Does Yelp recommend every review?

Yelp doesn't recommend every one of the millions of user reviews that are posted. Our recommendation software is entirely automated and tries to determine which reviews from the Yelp community are the most helpful and reliable, and displays them on business pages. It applies the same objective rules to every business and treats reviews of advertisers and non-advertisers exactly the same.

Across Yelp’s platform, about three quarters of all reviews are recommended. The remaining reviews don’t disappear; they can still be viewed by clicking “reviews that are not currently recommended” below the recommended reviews on business pages. 

Reviews that are not currently recommended don't factor into a business's overall star rating or review count. Not recommended reviews can also be seen on a reviewer's profile page. 

We aim to showcase contributions from users who actively contribute reliable and useful content.

Learn more at about Yelp’s recommendation software here, or watch this video for an overview of how our recommendation software works:

We hope to continually improve the recommendation software, and appreciate any feedback you may have.